! OUR REVIEW POLICY…

Editor Andrew L. Urban explains:
Well, actually it’s not so much a policy as an approach; we believe that film reviews
should not spoil the surprises in a movie (just as we don’t believe trailers should).

Our approach is to publish different – and often differing – views from various critics, so in a single page our readers can discover a diversity of responses to a film. Our critics are professionals, male and female, young and …er…mature

The synopsis that summarises the story of each film is deliberately short on detail, because we believe movies are more enjoyable as you discover the details for yourself. We publish the synopsis separately, partly for the practical reason that if we have two or three reviews, you don’t want to read three versions of the storyline.

You will also notice that we don’t have a ratings system; no thumbs, no stars, no marks out of 10. I know stars and so on are a convenient shorthand, but I have resisted ratings because I don’t like them; they’re meaningless, really (most films seem to get three out of five stars) and in my view they over simplify the process of film appreciation. In a way, they are the equivalent of fast foods and there are plenty of outlets who provide that service. We hope you’ll come to Urban Cinefile for a different experience.